Part 113 of the Elfwine Chronicles. The Elfwine Chronicles are a series of one-shots built around the family group of Eomer, Lothiriel and Elfwine. The total number will depend on how many ideas I get for new vignettes.

A/N: Reread an Eothain chronicle and decided I wanted to do more with him. This is the result. Many thanks to Maddy051280 for the information I used regarding the drug.

Treason

(March, 6 IV)

Chapter 1

Lothiriel swept down the length of the cavernous room toward the throne, exuding every particle of royalty she possessed. Coming to a stop a few feet back from the foot of the dais, she gave a low curtsy and held it. In short order, Elessar directed her, "Rise, Lothiriel Queen. You wish to speak with me?" Only because there were others present were the two of them being so formal, for they had long been friends.

"I do, my lord. I must insist that Captain Eothain be released at once. If he is guilty of any crime, my husband will see him punished, but I know of no Gondorian laws he has broken."

An adviser nearby blustered, "My lady! The man is guilty of treason to his king! Your own son has been taken captive because of his failing, possibly even by his own hand!"

Lothiriel fixed the man with a steely look that froze him in place, and immediately silenced him. "If that is true, Rohan will determine it and see the man suitably dealt with, but at present I do NOT believe the accusations. I demand Eothain be released – at once! He is needed to recover my son!"

Another adviser stepped in, trying to defuse the situation, though unwittingly fueling the flame. "My lady, we have the finest men of Gondor searching for your son. You can hardly send a man accused of participating in his abduction off on a rescue mission."

"I will send whomever I judge best to protect my son, and that is Captain Eothain, regardless of what you may say on the matter. I would trust my son's life to him far more than to any of Gondor's finest!"

Elessar barely concealed a grin; Lothiriel could be most formidable when she wished and she would not leave his advisers unscathed if they persisted in antagonizing her. Clearing his throat, he rose and all eyes turned to him. "My dearest friend, perhaps it would be best if we keep Eothain secured until Eomer King arrives and we can counsel with him on the matter." He saw the beginning of a protest rising in her, and lifted a hand to stay her comments. "I know that you trust Eothain, and I should like to think I can as well, but under the circumstances, until we learn more, I think we should be cautious."

Elessar held Lothiriel's gaze intently, seeking to convey to her the need to comply with his decision, and though her jaw tightened, she finally nodded consent. The truth was, he did not believe the accusations against Eothain any more than Lothiriel did, but something more was going on here than met the eye, and Eothain being imprisoned might buy them time to discover it.

Stepping down to where she stood, Elessar took her hands in his, promising quietly, "I will send for you directly so we may talk, but for now I have other matters I must attend to at present." He gave her a reassuring smile, then added softly, "Trust me!"

Gradually, her stiffness eased and she nodded. "Will you arrange for someone to escort me to see Eothain, after I have collected a few things to take to him?"

"Of course. Speak with Arwen and she will get you whatever you require."

xx

"Eothain!" Lothiriel exclaimed upon spying him, sitting on the cot, leaning against the stone wall.

His head turned at her voice and a small smile briefly broke his face, before he slumped back into introspection. "Open the door!" Lothiriel demanded.

"My lady, I am not permitted to –"

"I said open the door! Now! Or I will have your king relieve you of duty – permanently!" she snarled, and the man swallowed hard before doing as he was told.

She quickly moved to sit beside Eothain before he could stand, her eyes roving over him to assess any injuries he might have. "You are unhurt?" she asked quietly.

He nodded tiredly. "Yes. Would that I could say I sustained mortal wounds defending Elfwine from harm, but..." His face reflected his anguish, and Lothiriel laid a consoling hand on his arm.

"You are not to blame for this, Eothain! Do not think I would ever believe that!"

He raised sorrowful eyes to her and murmured, "But I did not prevent it. I did not even see it coming. If anything happens to Elfwine, I..."

"It will not! I will get you out of here and you will find those responsible – and exact your retribution."

Eothain sighed and nodded, not entirely believing her version of things, but disinclined to argue the point. Turning to a basket she carried, Lothiriel opened it to reveal food and two extra blankets. Raising her voice so the guards would be sure to hear her, she announced, "I will see that you are well taken care of while you are imprisoned, Eothain. I shall come daily to check on you, and if I find anything amiss, I will go directly to King Elessar about it. I will not tolerate any neglect of you."

Eothain lowered his eyes and grinned. Well he knew that it was not wise to cross Rohan's queen when she was up in arms. "Thank you, my lady. That is very kind of you."

Laying her hand on his arm again, she lowered her voice and added, "According to Arwen, Elessar thinks it best that you remain here until Eomer arrives. Whoever did this may be misled into thinking we believe you are guilty, and thus act carelessly. I do not like it, but I trust Elessar's judgement."

Eothain looked up at her from under the hair that had fallen in his eyes. "King Elessar is a good and wise man. I trust him to do what is right. I would have you stay near him and do as he says."

Lothiriel made to stand, not sure what more could be said, but suddenly Eothain's hand shot out and caught her wrist tightly, holding her in her seat. In a fierce whisper he told her, "Tell Eomer to watch his back, Lothiriel, and you as well! Whoever did this – if they could get to Elfwine so easily and get me out of the way, then they could get to Eomer or you. I do not know what their ultimate purpose is, but do not trust anyone. Whoever betrayed me was someone I knew, someone I trusted."

She nodded and laid a hand on his where it gripped her, then raised it to briefly brush his cheek. She started to rise, but then paused, asking, "Is there anything at all you remember that might be useful?"

He shook his head in resignation. "I keep trying to pierce the fog, but so far nothing is clear. Whatever I was given seems to have caused me to have confusing dreams, and I cannot truly remember even those, though perhaps that is just as well. I am more interested in remembering what happened while I was awake than while I slept. But it appears I will have plenty of time to consider the matter. Be assured, you will be the first to know if anything comes to me."

She dipped her head in understanding and stood, and Eothain stiffly rose as well, bowing formally to her. "Thank you for coming, my lady." The full weight of his appreciation for her faith in him shone in his eyes and she smiled, nodding ever so slightly before departing.

xx

Lothiriel entered Elessar's study, and the guard closed the door behind her. The king smiled tightly at her and gestured her to a seat on the couch, then moved to sit next to her.

"According to Kialmar, nothing unusual transpired that night. None of the Rohirrim saw anything to give any alarm; certainly no odd behavior on Eothain's part. I had sent out a party of my own soldiers to meet them, and escort them to the city, and since they were already camped when my men arrived, they settled in for the night also, to return the next day – today."

He rose to pace around the room as he continued. "My men claim to have seen nothing either, and no one heard anything amiss. Eothain stumbled from his tent before dawn, searching for Elfwine and quite confused. He said he remembered nothing of the night before. It was discovered that his tent had been slit, likely how the boy was removed. There were footprints that led to the nearby woods, and then horses' tracks, but they merged into the main road, and so the trail could not be followed beyond that. The perpetrators could have taken Elfwine anywhere.

"My men felt it incumbent that they put Eothain under guard since he had been the one charged with Elfwine's safety. As he had suffered no injury, there was no evidence the boy was taken from him by force, and they only had his claim that he must have been drugged, though he had no idea by whom or how they accomplished it.

"However, he was able to get a few moments alone with Kialmar as camp was being struck, so he scribbled a note to Eomer and had Kialmar sneak two riders out of the camp, rightly judging that my men might not allow such a thing. We can assume they will make quick time to Edoras, and Eomer will soon be on his way here."

Now Elessar turned to face Lothiriel, and rubbed his face wearily. "Legolas is in Ithilien at present, so I had Faramir send someone to fetch him, along with several of the Ithilien rangers. They are the best trackers we have, and I shall accompany them personally to the site to see if we can determine anything that was previously overlooked."

Though Lothiriel was one of the strongest women he knew, Elessar now watched her crumble before him. She collapsed in tears, moaning softly, "My poor baby! He must be so very frightened!"

Quickly Elessar took her into his embrace. "I promise we will find him and punish those responsible for this, Lothiriel. Do not despair just yet. And Elfwine is a good strong lad – he will manage to get through this."

He let her weep for several minutes before she finally recovered enough to wipe at her eyes and nose. Retrieving a handkerchief for her, he offered it and smiled compassionately. He could well understand how he would feel if this was his son who had been taken.

The momentary lapse seemed to help Lothiriel regain her control and she gave him a tepid smile. "I thank you for everything, Elessar. I am grateful you are here if Eomer is not. What would you have me do?"

"For now, all we can do is wait. Legolas and the rangers should be here soon, and then we will proceed."

xx

It had taken until the next day for Faramir's messenger to reach Ithilien and locate Legolas, and they did not return to Minas Tirith until nightfall. As it was too late to set out, Elessar and his friend spent the evening strategizing with the rangers and Faramir, bringing Kialmar in to speak on behalf of the king's guard in Eothain's place.

It had rained during the night, which would not help matters when it came time to try to track the abductors, but they were prepared to search every foot of Middle-earth if that was what it took to find the boy.

Though Elessar had intended an early departure in the morning, his advisers had anticipated him, and he was met by them shortly after leaving his bedchamber. They had been very vocal in their opposition to his participating in this venture, thinking it far too dangerous for the king, but he had remained adamant on that point. Now they had another matter they thought the king ought to consider.

"My lord, do you not find it suspicious that Rohan's heir has been abducted and Rohan's queen is earnestly defending the man accused? Perhaps she is in collusion with this Eothain. Perhaps they are lovers and seek to overthrow Rohan's monarchy and thus take control there! We must be most cautious!"

The man had not seen King Eomer enter the room, nor noted the fury on his face when he heard what was being said. In a few strides, Eomer had reached Elessar's adviser and had him lifted by the throat. "First you suggest my dearest friend has betrayed me, and now you dare to accuse my wife as well? Give me one good reason why I should not just snap your neck and be done with it!" he spat, and a look of sheer terror came to the man's face, as he gasped for air, his fingers clawing frantically at Eomer's hand around his neck.

"Eomer," Elessar said quietly, intervening, "let him go. Murdering an imbecile will serve no useful purpose."

For a moment it did not appear as though Eomer would comply, but at length he tossed the man away from him as though he were a sack of potatoes. He crashed heavily to the stone floor, and lay there dazed as Elessar moved in and grasped Eomer's arm to calm him.

The storm still raged on Eomer's face as he turned to look at his friend, only slowly setting aside his anger. "Come," Elessar told him, "we will speak in private." He led the way toward his study, and the assembled members of his council shifted uneasily where they stood, concerned at how volatile this situation had become.

Once they were alone, Elessar informed Eomer on what had been happening in Gondor. When he finished, he added, "We were not expecting to see you so soon, my friend. We thought it would take far longer for the messengers to reach Edoras and you to set out."

Eomer stood at the window, staring out at the grey dawn just beginning to be lit with a few rays of sunlight peeking over the mountains. With a sigh, he turned and explained, "I sent Elfwine on ahead with Eothain because I expected not to get away for another week or more, but the situation changed and I was able to leave earlier. I met the messengers on the road yesterday morning, and we rode through the night to get here." He paused, then looked searchingly at his friend. "How is Lothiriel coping with this?"

"She is a courageous woman, as you well know, but it affects her deeply. We were just going to leave to begin the search. I assume you will want to join us, so I will delay for an hour or so that you may see her, and perhaps Eothain as well."

"Thank you," Eomer acknowledged. "Our horses are exhausted. Could you provide a fresh mount for me? I will take as my guard those that were with Elfwine since they are rested, if you will have them summoned."

Elessar nodded. "I am sure Faramir already knows of your arrival and is seeing to your men, and Kialmar was planning to take some of the guard with us. Now that you have other men in the city to protect Lothiriel, we can muster the remainder of them as well." Striding toward the door, he added, "Lothiriel is in your usual room. I will send food for you there, and then you can go to see Eothain."

xx

Eomer was not surprised that his wife woke instantly as he entered the room, nor that she did not look rested. In silence he seated himself on the side of the bed and drew her into his embrace, holding her tightly. Again, her tears flowed, and she murmured into his shoulder, "I do not know what I would do if he is lost to us!"

"Shhh! He will not be. I will not even contemplate that possibility. We will find them, and those who took him will regret they ever drew breath!" Eomer promised.

A knock at the door signaled the arrival of his meal, and interrupted their quiet moment. Pressing a kiss to her head, he went to let the servant in before returning to her side. While he ate, he explained what was planned and that he would be leaving shortly to begin the search.

"What about Eothain?" she asked.

"Eothain has ever been at my side during such times as these, and he will continue to be. He is going with us, if I have to break him out of that prison singlehandedly."

A smile tweaked Lothiriel's mouth briefly, before she nodded. "Good. I cannot believe he willfully did anything to betray us or Elfwine. He deserves to be there to punish those who are guilty."

xx

Eomer ducked into the cell, and Eothain rose to respectfully greet his king. He knew Eomer did not expect it of him, but he felt it important to do so with the guard present. Once the man stepped out of the room, Eothain relaxed slightly and favored Eomer with a wan look before slumping back onto the bench where he had been seated.

Eomer took a seat beside him, glancing around the cell that was surprisingly comfortable. He raised an eyebrow at his friend, who readily grasped his thoughts.

"Courtesy of your wife," he explained wryly. "I believe she has most of the guards thoroughly intimidated, and terrified of offending her by slighting me."

Eomer gave an approving smile at his words. "I would expect nothing less. Lothiriel can be quite tenacious about defending her own." He lapsed into silence for a few moments, and then ventured, "What happened? I have heard what others have told me, but I want to hear it from you."

With a sigh, Eothain nodded. "Certainly I have had plenty of time to ponder the matter. It has taken a while for my memory to clear, and even so I do not have all the answers I would like. There was nothing notable that happened that night, Eomer. It makes no sense at all if you look at it just on facts alone. As I told Lothiriel, someone I trusted had to have betrayed me and done this, for I saw no enemy that night."

"Then who did you see? We will go through each of them one by one until we find the culprit. If you are not guilty, and I know you are not, then someone else is, and we will find them – and make them pay."

After going through the roster of men who had been there that night, Eomer leaned back against the wall, his eyes narrowed. "Aragorn sent some of his soldiers to greet you?"

Eothain nodded, but added, "They were all men that I had met before when I have been in Gondor, and none did anything that made me suspicious."

"Still," Eomer observed, "I am more inclined to suspect them than one of our own soldiers. We have long trusted the men of the King's Guard with our lives and safety, and I choose not to distrust them unless it is unavoidable. We will start with the Gondorians."

"Proceed with…tact, Eomer. You cannot jump in and make accusations against Aragorn's men without something substantial in the way of evidence. We do not wish to undo the peace and goodwill between our lands after so short a time," Eothain reminded his king.

Eomer nodded, pondering the situation for a few moments, and then rose decisively. Looking down at his friend, he told him, "Be ready to ride. I will have you out of here soon and then we will find Elfwine."

Once Eomer left, Eothain leaned back and closed his eyes. As was becoming commonplace, that fateful night flashed through his mind's eye and he watched the evening play out yet again. What was he missing? What detail was he overlooking? There had to have been something, some clue in what happened that would guide them to the criminals behind this.

He shivered as he thought of Elfwine, alone with these men. The boy would be terrified, wondering why Eothain did not come to claim him. He could not fail the child. Elfwine might be Eomer's son, but Eothain loved him as dearly as if he were his own. Nevermind his duty as captain of the king's guard – this was personal!

TBC

(Point of reference: Elfwine is 5 here; "Frolic" took place in Jun, 6 IV)

End note: It is best that you read the Elfwine Chronicles in the order they were written. The more of them that I wrote, the more likely I was to make reference to one of the previous ones and something that happened there. If you want to read them in order, go to the top of this page and click on my name (Deandra). That will take you to my profile page. Scroll down and you will find all the stories I have written. The Elfwine Chronicles are in order from bottom to top since ffn shows them in the order they were posted. A few were posted out of number order, but you can read them in posting order or number order since those few won't be affected in the story content.